Vom Alter der Oelmalerey, aus dem Theophilus Presbyter
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's 1774 essay arguing the antiquity of oil painting from the medieval craft manual of Theophilus Presbyter, printed in Braunschweig by the Ducal Orphanage bookshop for antiquarians and art scholars. The plates are letterpress ornament rather than illustration: rococo woodcut initials built from acanthus scrolls, a shell-and-rose tailpiece, a monogram cartouche, and leafy horizontal bands, useful as drop caps, dividers, and frames for a label or crest.
